Carson’s elected officials are distancing themselves from a city foreclosure program that has steered strapped homeowners to a private firm with a history of complaints.

The company, ABS Business Solutions, charges thousands of dollars in up-front fees to perform mortgage “audits.” It is illegal to charge up-front fees for foreclosure counseling, and numerous nonprofit groups will do it for free.

Councilman Elito Santarina, who serves on the city’s foreclosure protection subcommittee, said he wanted a full explanation of what went wrong from the program’s coordinator, Sai Momoli.

“I’m so furious. This is ridiculous,” Santarina said. “All I wanted was to do something good for the people. I wish I knew every detail and I wish I knew I had been a part of this. No, I do not know anything about this. I am out of it.”

Mayor Jim Dear, who teamed up with Santarina to start the Carson Foreclosure Crisis Response Team, did not return a call seeking comment on Wednesday.

The Breeze reported on Tuesday that the team was referring Carson residents to ABS, which the Attorney General’s Office has targeted for failing to register as a foreclosure consultant.

The Breeze also reported that several former ABS customers have posted complaints about the company online, claiming that it had taken fees of more than $3,000 and then had done nothing to prevent their foreclosures.

ABS officials have not responded to an inquiry seeking comment.

Momoli said Dear was upset when he learned about ABS’s practices in the Breeze report.

“He says to disconnect altogether from ABS and I agree,” Momoli said.

The mayor also encouraged Momoli’s group to obtain refunds for any Carson residents who have already paid up-front fees, Momoli said.

“He wants that done as soon as possible,” Momoli said.

In a letter to the Breeze, however, Dear took issue with “false statements” in the initial report.

“The very first sentence of the article is blatantly untrue and I am surprised that you would allow it to be printed in the newspaper when a small amount of research would show you that a city of Carson foreclosure task force does not exist,” Dear wrote.

In fact, the city’s Web site includes a page and a toll-free number for the city’s “Foreclosure Task Force.” The outgoing message on the toll-free line begins, “Thank you for calling the city of Carson Foreclosure Task Force Resource Center hotline.”

The Breeze article did not discuss the task force, however. Instead, it referred only to the Foreclosure Crisis Response Team.

According to a press release issued last week on city stationery, Dear and Santarina “initiated” the team.

The press release advertised a free workshop on Saturday, and listed two contact people: Lisa Berglund, a city employee, and Julian Wilson-Fiatoa, who is a relative of Momoli’s. The number listed for Wilson-Fiatoa went to Momoli’s phone.

In his letter on Wednesday, Dear attempted to distance himself from the group, describing the team as “Mr. Momoli’s Foreclosure Crisis Response Team.”

He also noted that ACORN Housing Los Angeles, a HUD-certified foreclosure counseling group, had been invited to attend the workshop.

Indeed, ACORN representatives were there, but they sat at the back and were not invited to speak to the audience.

The only speakers at the event were Dear, Santarina, and Wilson-Fiatoa, who made a pitch for the crisis response team’s program.

In a fact sheet issued by the team on Saturday, there are repeated references to Santarina and Dear’s involvement in the program.

In one section it asks, “How is FCRT different from all the other programs/companies?”

The answer begins: “It is the commitment of Mayor Dear and Councilman Santarina to save Carson homeowners from losing their homes.”

Councilwoman Lula Davis-Holmes noted that the full council never endorsed Dear and Santarina’s efforts.

“My concern was there’s so many free agencies out there that do this,” she said. “We never said (to Momoli) that you would run lead on this.”

Councilman Mike Gipson said he was concerned that the city could be held liable if residents are cheated by the program.

“There are predators out there that are taking advantage of people,” Gipson said. “I don’t want our city to incur any lawsuits.”

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